A Coraopolis police officer and a Pennsylvania state trooper were part of Ben Roethlisberger's retinue in Milledgeville, Ga. last week when the Steelers quarterback allegedly sexually assaulted a college student in a nightclub.

Both officers are personal friends of the quarterback's and were with him in that capacity, Mr. Santicola said.

Mr. Santicola said he is friends with Trooper Joyner and has received a phone call from him about the situation, but the two have not yet spoken.

"Then went down together. They were completely sober the night of this occurrence. They're cooperating completely with whatever investigation is ongoing," Mr. Santicola said of the police officers.

Neither has been contacted or interviewed by Georgia authorities, Mr. Santicola said.

A 20-year-old student at Georgia College & State University accused Mr. Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her at Capital City nightclub in Milledgeville's business district either late Thursday or early Friday.

Authorities have not released details about the allegations but said they are seeking a sample of Mr. Roethlisberger's DNA. Mr. Roethlisberger's legal team has denied the accusations.

One is a police officer from Coraopolis and the other is a Pennsylvania State Trooper stationed at the Washington County barracks.

JAR

03-11-2010, 10:34 AM

Santicola, who's based in western Pennsylvania, said both of the law enforcement officers who were with Roethlisberger are cooperating fully with the investigation, but say they saw nothing inappropriate.

"They saw nothing inappropriate, no criminal activity and no inappropriate contact or behavior," Santicola said, adding that Barravecchio was "completely sober" during the evening.

Santicola also said the two do not remember meeting the woman who has accused Roethlisberger of assault.

"If they did meet the woman, they have no memory of it," Santicola said. "This was a crowded bar with people everywhere."